inai    niHlSUn,     r.MI    IIC    nvcn    iwil^t:!,     nuuiu    liUT<.     iiii;ii    »iiui    viiniivv 

altfn. 

/  He  began  his  career  as  a  nortliern  explorer  in  the  service  of 
Mhe  Company  of  Merchant  Afl'  'jnturers,  which  had  been  founded 
by  Sebastian  fabot,  in  1553,  expressly  for  the  purpose  of  trading 
with  India  and  China  by  a  north-eastern  route.  The  numerous 
attempts  made  by  the  Company  in  order  to  realize  the  founder's 
idea  proved  of  course  fruitless.  They  led,  however,  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  lucrative  trade  with  Russia,  and  through  Russia  with 
Persia  and  Tartary.     The  dangers  and  difficulties  of  the  voyage  to 


H     tm 


90 


iiRNin-  iiunsoN, 


value.  The  maps  and  charts  of  Hudson's  Strait  are  still  in  the 
highest  degree  unsatisfactory  ;  and  conclusions  based  upon  their 
comparison  with  Hudson's  journals  would  rarely  make  us  obtain 
unquestionable  facts.  We  have  nevertheless  the  means  of  appre- 
ciating the  greatness  of  Hudson's  achievement  and  of  marking  its 
place  in  the  history  of  northern  discovery. 

Hudson  has  left  a  map  of  the  strait  which  is  far  superior  even 
to  Davis  and  Molyneux's  delineation  of  Davis's  Strait ;  and  no 
other  northern  map  or  chart  existing  at  the  time  can  at  all  be  com- 
pared to  it.  From  this  map,  and  from  the  journal  and  accounts 
that  have  been  preserved,  we  can  conclude  with  certainty  that 
Hudson  examined  both  the  northern  and  the  southern  shore  of  the 
strait — an  undertaking  of  such  vast  difficulty  that,  without  the  posi- 
tive proofs  we  possess  of  its  having  been  accomplished,  we  should 
hesitate  to  admit  even  its  possibility.     '' 

The  strait  has  a  lencth  of  more  than  600  miles,  and  an  average 


m 


III.'11-MIMIW.IIIH-,. 


!llltW»il.lilMlli:»M>«ttMiiia-. 


%||UV     Vliniiw 

e  service  of 
i^cn  founded 
e  of  trading 
\e  numerous 
he  founder's 
[)  the  estab- 
Kussia  with 
he  voyage  to 


shore.  He  tried  to  force  his  way  throu};h  tne  Spit/liergen  group 
eastwards,  but  found  solid  land  where  he  desired  to  discover  the 
open  sea.  Not  less  in  vain  were  his  efforts  lo  pass  eastwards  or 
northw  rd.s  by  the  north  of  the  Spit/bfrjjcii  group.  Kvery./here 
the  way  was  blocked  up  by  b<jundles»  icefields.  'I'he  whole  of  the 
month  of  July  having  been  spent  in  these  fruitless  endeavours, 


*  W«  •hall  not  trnuhia  the  rodder  with  tuch  (ui>Kr*|ihii;ul  ilvtoiU  ax  only  a  thoruUKh 
WHiuitlnUnce  with  urotlr  awtgnphj  would  ^.■■bl•  him  to  und«nli.->d ;  •n'l  wt  shall  tharvfnr* 
dcToU  but  a  faw  Ubm  to  Uudioii'i  ant  vorac*. 


ria 


are  still  in  the 
ised  upon  their 
nake  us  obtain 
neans  of  appre- 
of  marking  its 

ir  superior  even 
Strait ;  and  no 
n  at  all  be  com- 
tl  and  accounts 
I  certainty  that 
em  shore  of  the 
without  the  posi- 
ihed,  we  should 

and  an  average 


THE  NAVIOATOB. 


21 


the  seals  and  bears  escaping  by  diving  or  jumping  on  other  islands 
of  ice  before  the  boats  could  approach  them.  At  last  the  western 
mouth  of  the  strait  was  reached,  the  2d  of  August.  The  3d  of 
August,  i6io,  Hudson  entered  Hudson's  Bay. 

The  island  to  which  Hudson  gave  the  name  of  his  patron,  Sir 
Dudley  Diggs,  and  the  opposite  cape,  which  he  named  after  John 
Wolstenholme,  Esq.,  form  a  kind  of  gateway  between  Hudson's 
Strait  and  Hudson's  Bay.  The  islands  swarm  with  fowl  of  every 
kind,  which  the  natives  of  the  region  catch  by  an  ingenious  trick — 
placing  a  snare  in  such  manner  that  the  birds  caught  in  it  strangle 
themselves.  A  large  herd  of  deer  was  also  met  with.  Yet,  to  the 
indignation  of  his  crew,  Hudson  could  not  be  induced  to  tarry,  but 
moved  on  southwards,  now  evidently  confident  that  the  way  to  China 
was  plain  before  him.  For,  on  leaving  the  strait,  the  coast  of  Hud- 
son's Bay  trends  almost  directly  from  the  north  to  the  south. 

The  mistake  was.  however,  too  evident  to  remain  Innor  hiHHon 


son's  vessel  was  not  fitted  for  the  already  well-known  clanKcrnof  the 
Sea  of  Kora  ;  Hudson  therefore  returned  towards  home  on  the  6th 
of  July.  Regretting  the  l(»ss  of  the  finest  part  of  the  season,  he 
was  tempted  yet  to  sail  to  the  northwest,  and  to  explore  the  mouth 
of  the  strait  that  now  bears  his  name.  This  idea,  liowever,  he  gave 
up  for  the  present,  and  reached  h<ime  the  a6th  of  August. 

Hudson's  account  of  the  second  voyage  contains  the  following 
justly  celebrated  passage  : — 


22 


HENRY    HUDSON, 


Yet  this  trying  time,  which  has  so  often  brought  out  the  most 
beautiful  qualities  of  the  seaman — his  steady  trust  in  God,  his 
cheerfulness,  his  obedience  and  attachment  to  his  superiors — made 
a  hell  of  Hudson's  ship.  The  mutinous  spirit  showed  itself  without 
disguise,  and  Hudson  had  openly  to  take  precautions  for  his 
personal  safety.  He  seized  all  charts,  notes,  and  writing  materials, 
in  order  to  render  it  impossible  for  his  crew  to  return  without  him. 
He  was  exceedingly  careful  in  hoarding  %  store  of  provisions,  so 
much  so  that  he  increased  instead  of  diminished  the  distrust  of  his 
men,  which  grew  from  day  to  day,  and  continually  threatened  to 
break  out  in  open  revolt. 

A  momentary  diversion  was  made  in  this  state  of  things  by 
the  hope— vain,  like  all  Hudson's  hopes — of  establishing  a  regular 
intercourse  with  the  natives.  One  of  them  had  been  to  the  ship, 
and  had  entered  into  a  bartering  negotiation.  When  Hudson 
followed  his  traces,  he  already  perceived  that  he  was  close  to  the 


— •  -  -"xliwrraimn 


iii^erHuf  the 

ne  on  the  6th 

e  season,  he 

rt'  the  mouth 

ever,  he  gave 

;ust. 

the  fulluwing 


into  the  different  subjects  of  this  Dutch  party  strife — a  subject 
of  great  intrinsic  interest,  and  of  some  importance  for  the  history 
of  England's  home  anri  foreign  affairs. 

The  war  between  Spain  and  the  Netherlands  had  the  effect  oi 
tiansferring  all  those  brilliant  features  by  which  Belgium  had  been 
distinguished  up  to  Philippe  I.'s  time— her  commerce,  industr)-, 
learning  and  art— to  the  northern  provinces  which  shook  off  the 
Spanish  yoke,  and  especially  to  Holland.     All  the  principal  towns 

2 


-"■r 


I 


i 


1 


THE  NAVtOATOR. 


23 


:  out  the  most 
in  God,  his 
eriors — made 
itself  without 
tions  for  his 
ing  materials, 
without  him. 
provisions,  so 
distrust  of  his 
threatened  to 

of  things  by 
ling  a  regular 
1  to  the  ship, 
^hen  Hudson 

close  to  the 


martyrdom,  a  lingering  starvation,  in  the  presence  of  his  son  and 
of  his  faithful  companions,  who  were  suffering  and  dying  with  him, 
he  must  have  considered  all  his  dauntless  efforts  as  absolutely 
fruitless.  Yet  how  much  have  they  produced !  The  bay  and  strait 
have  opened  up  the  vast  territories  which,  after  having  for  centuries 
yielded  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  furs,  are  now  destined  to  hold 
a  distinguished  place  among  England's  colonial  possessions.  The 
first  voyage  has  yielded  to  England  and  Holland  a  fishing  trade 
the  proceeds  of  Which  amount  to  millions  of  money,  and  which  has 
vastly  contributed  to  develop  the  energy  of  English  and  Dutch 
seamen.  More  important  still  are  the  consequences  of  the  third 
voyage.  Hudson's  own  employers,  the  East  India  Company  of 
Holland,  did  not  follow  up  his  discoveries,  because  all  West-Indian 
trade  was  specially  advocated  by  the  Calvinists,  as  an  infringement 
of  the  right  which  the  King  of  Spain  pretended  to  have  to  the 
whole  of  America.     Therefor^  Jthou^rh  some  traHincr  tr,  T^nrico»'. 


Ik'lgians.  Hav'mjj  spninR  froTn  a  war  in  acientc  Oi  trie 
religion,  the  party  w;is  naturally  ruled  and  kept  together  by  its 
preachers.  Of  so  much  importance,  indeed,  was  this  religious 
standard,  that  the  adversaries  also  felt  obliged  to  raise  a  theo- 
logical banner,  on  which  they  inscribed  the  name  of  Arminius. 
The  well  known  maxims  of  Church  government,  set  forth  by 
that  celebrated  Dutch  divine,  had  originally  no  other  purpose  than 
to  suit  the  interests  of  the  oligarchs,  whom  they  delivered  from  the 


luicrrviaiii 


ether  by  its 
his  religious 
aisc  a  theo- 
)f  Arminius. 
,  set  forth  by 
purpose  than 
red  from  the 


they  repaired  to. 

But  the  vigilant  chief  of  the  Holland  nativists,  John  ( Hdcnbar- 
ncvolt,  did  not  allow  the  power  which  the  early  maritime  successes 
created  to  remain  in  the  hands  of  his  political  adversaries.  He 
established,  in  i6oa,  the  great  Kast  India  Company,  whose  govern- 
ment was  from  the  beginning,  and  always  ;c-mained,  with  the 
Arminians.      Thin   company   had,   to   the   exclusion   of  all   other 


" 


■■i 


MiMn,  w:i.s,  ill  si/c,  like  thonc  the  KnHfli.ih  company  had  supplied  to 
him.  It  was  a  small  Hat-bottomed  craft  of  the  kind  then  K^nerally 
used  in  the  Dutch  coasting  trade,  and  manned  with  a  crew  of 
sixteen,  partly  Knglish,  partly  Dutch.  The  Knglishmen  were,  as 
far  as  their  names  are  known,  from  among  Hudson's  former 
companions.  They  must,  therefore,  have  come  to  Holland  for  the 
express  purpose  of  again  joining  in  the  northern  expedition.     The 


I  supplied  to 
en  |{en«rally 
:h  a  crew  of 
ncn  were,  as 
ion's  former 
ll.-uut  for  the 
liition.    Th« 


in  handed  d<»wii  offer  little  interest  at  the  pnsciit  «l.i) .     <  >(  Hiid.v»n'» 
own  journal  only  a  few  scraps  havv.  iK-en  preserved  in  the  Dutch 

♦  Vlriinia  m  op|kmmhI  to  .\«w  Kniiliiiiil.  'Il(«  •lMivt>  |niiw«hf  U  iiotn  V»n 
Mel«r«u'i  chriinicia,  aixl  turn  almtMit  wftli  cc rtaimy  Iw  tncnl  lMi<:k  (..  liiitlaoii 
himiwlf.  Vail  MfUrrtu  dind  in  IB12,  only  Iho  yi^ri.  afior  HiuIkhi'ii  r..iurn  from 
lh«  third  T..ya«i».  Florida  I*  n  »««ry  tragiiii  lenii.  Kv..ii  In  tint  ITili  ..•lUury  th« 
iMtlTM  of  til*  Sute  of  New  V<»rk  were  nometimM  calle<t  Kloridaim. 


with  >h(rlU  which  Ihcy  had  ({ot  out  of  the  water.  Tht-y  AUp|><tM-(l 
that  I  would  ri-main  with  them  for  the  ni^ht,  hut  I  rvturnr*!  aAir  a 
short  tunc  on  iMtanl  the  %U\\}.  The  laiici  i*  the  tincKt  for  ruhivation 
that  1  vvcr  in  my  life  M:t  foot  upon,  and  it  aiao  aboumU  in  trees  of 


*  lUtniMklati  ttntn  thm  Ihilch  irftMhilltin  of  !>•  1.*^.    Th»  origtMil  ia  Umt, 


try  Rup|K)»cd 
iirnr'l  iiftir  a 
t>r  rtilliv.-ilion 
;l»  in  trees  of 

original  i«  kiat. 


him,  and  tlriMike  him  on  the  brent,  ami  killcti  him  Whcrdi|Min  all 
the  rest  rfed  iiway,  some  in  their  ran<»c)i,  ami  no  leapt  out  of  them 
into  the  water.     Wc  manned  our  boat,  and  got  our  thinKs  again. 


•  T»i«  lni«nii<>tMi  of  lb«  linllaiHi  »xr«  avtilMilly  of  •  Mrmlly  tMUnr* 
war  iMirly  wuulit  Ihit*  Imwd  ••■t-<mi|«niM|  by  witiiwii  mhI  rhllflr»ri. 


No  In4t«n 


of  Ihr  njiivrs  i<«  Imt  otir  iitil.im«,  4n<i  «  very  mild  on«,  of  ihr  <ll» 
sciuionn  iN-lwcen  the  muMcr  ami  hit  rrrw  The  whole  pbii  of  the 
voy«|{r  hud  alrriuty  liecn  ullrrcd  by  their  miiliiMms  Iwhaviuur, 
which  WM  4lKHit  to  exrrci»c  •  •till  more  cletM^ivc  itiHuviice  on 
llu<l»4>n'»  fate.    Ity  preventing  hi>  return  to  HoliamI,  it  mainly  coih 


,  of  I  he  cll»- 
r  |>l4ti  of  lh« 
•  behaviour, 
tiriuviice  on 
■  mainly  con- 


T 


iHHii ;  ^unn  rri>iBivnnniint,  rilq  ;  jOnn  r^ri<i,  Koiicri  SniMiy,  Wil 
ii«m  (irccnwdl.  Nkhohii  l^4i»,  Hovel  Mloprrt,  Willum   Kuaacil, 
John  Mcrtck*.  Abrah«m  (  hambcrUirw,  Hhiiipp  Harlumalhia,  mer- 
chania  of  ihc  citjr  of  London 

The  real  merit  of  having  »tartrd  the-  rxpcdiiion  btlcmK*,  howcvrr, 
neither  to  the  two  mighty  companies,  nor  to  tliv  noble  patruna,  but 


J 


■iiiiiii 


■■■■■■I 


■■I 


■■M 


lUrn  ilNIKPflWfV  RMf  ft  IPOltffl  SIOfHI  D9  MRHOVfH  lO  |VBRf^  fiw  im* 

RHMUltiy  (>f  hu  n4nM. 

The  i^ihuf  April,  1610,  H.MiiMmitiok  hUl4jitlc«v«frt»nil^>tMi<m. 
HU  vrM«>t,  ihr  lurk  Dufinvrf,  »4itr<l  with  him  »m\  hi«  <  imtiKtniona 
fruBi  Hl  KathtriDc'a  foot  mat  London  tetdft.     An  Ulboditig  evtnt 


KMiry  mt  nii> 

•  t  itnt|>4ni<>nt 
iboding  evtnt 


■»ini»  rMr»i 


wr  n«i  imn  iiw  wNk  imff  tm  ffw  tftli  Hay  alter  hi* 
•lr»Mriurr  lum  UrUml,  ih«  1418  iiT  juiM  4i  mitlntxhl,  Hii<l«<>n 
rnlrrrd  hit  Mrail  rnini  ihr  mwiK,  in  Uliltwla  4<»»  ij/  N, 

^  Kw^fJphk  4I  4«iiMiMi  i»r  Ihr  vfiy«^  ihrmiKh  the  Mr«h  wihiIiI 
not  only  Uiigut  lh«  rtad«r ,  it  would  cvtn  be  of  very  UuubtAil 


MnBaHM 


$  IIKNUY    HUDSON, 

Siberian  vessels  that  have  at  all  penetrated  to  the  north  coast  of 
Siberia. 

While  the  prospects  in  the  East  are  thus  entirely  destroyed  by 
tU'i  science  of  our  days,  those  in  the  West  are  not  by  any  means  " 
more  encouraging,  although  they  have  called  forth  a  much  larger 
amount  of  exertion.  The  first  attempt  to  find  a  route  by  the  north 
of  the  American  continent  almo.st  coincides  with  the  discovery  of 
that  continent  itself,  and  the  last  of  a  long  series  of  efforts  to  dis- 
cover a  north-west  passage  have  been  made  but  yesterday.  Yet 
no  vessel  has  really  penetrated  from  the  Atlantic  to  th*^  Pacific 
through  the  north-western  passage. 

Of  all  these  impossibilities  none  appeared  as  impossibilities  to 
Hudson's  contemporaries ;  and,  though  beset  with  difficulties,  a 
number  of  chances  of  a  short  northern  route  to  China  seemed 
to  exist.  Hudson  himself  tried  not  less  than  six  of  these  delusive 
hopes.     He  attempted  • — 

I.  To  sail  across  the  North  Pole  (1607). 

3.    I'o  sail  eastward  by  the  north  of  Spitzbergen  (1607). 

3.  To  enter  the  Arctic  Ocean  between  Spitzbergen  and  Nova 
Zembla  (1608). 

4.  To  penetrate  through  the  Nova  Zembla  group  into  the  sea 
of  Kora  (1608). 

5.  To  find  a  north-western  passage,  in  those  parts  where  New 
York  is  at  present  situated  (1609). 

6.  To  reach  the  Pacific  through  the  strait  and  bay  which  now 
bear  Hudson's  own  name  (161J-1611). 

It  is  curious  that  Hudson  missed  the  only  route  which  may 
perhaps,  under  favourable  circumstances,  allow  some  isolated  craft 
to  force  its  way  from  one  ocean  to  the  other — namely,  the  route  on 
which  Sir  John  Franklin  perished.  But  it  can  hardly  be  questioned 
that  Hudson,  had  he  lived  longer,  would  have  tried  that  chance 
al*o.  .     ' 

/  He  began  his  career  as  a  northern  explorer  in  the  service  of 
Mhe  Company  of  Merchant  Ad'enturers,  which  had  been  founded 
by  Sebastian  Cabot,  in  1553,  expressly  for  the  purpose  of  trading 
with  India  and  China  by  a  north-eastern  route.  Tlie  numerous 
attempts  made  by  the  Company  in  order  to  realize  the  founder's 
idea  proved  of  course  fruidess.  They  led,  however,  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  lucrative  trade  with  Russia,  and  through  Russia  with 
Persia  and  Tartary.     The  dangers  and  difficulties  of  the  voyage  to 


Htt 


t 


coast  of 

troyed  by 
ly  means  " 
ch  larger 
the  north 
icovery  of 
ts  to  dis- 
may. Yet 
le  Pacific 

ibilitie!^  to 
iculties,  a 
a  seemed 
e  delusive 


07). 

and  Nova 

:o  the  sea 

here  New 

vhich  now 

vhich  may 
iated  craft 
e  route  on 
questioned 
lat  chance 

service  of 
n  founded 
of  trading 

numerous 
!  founder's 
the  estab- 
lussia  with 
;  voyage  to 


THK    VAVIGATOU  -  """■  -f 

Archangel  became  thus  familiar  to  a  noble  school  of  English  sea- 
men who  laid  the  foundation  for  England's  oceanic  navigation  and 
commerce.  Two  immense  services  especially  were  rendered  by 
Sebastian  Cabot  and  by  his  company  to  all  future  navigators  :  the 
invention  and  develcpTr-ont  of  the  logbook,  and  the  systematic 
observation  of  the  variations  of  the  needle.  The  journals  kept  by 
the  seamen  in  the  Company's  service  differ,  indeed,  but  little  from 
those  of  the  present  day,  while  all  the  accounts  of  voyages  under- 
taken prior  to  1553  are  more  like  the  random  narratives  of  tourists 
than  like  maritime  records.  And,  of  all  the  early  journals  of 
the  Mercjj^it  Adventurers,  none  are  equal  to  those  of  Henry  Hud- 
son. He  is  especially  distinguished  by  adding  to  the  logbook  a 
new/reature — the  observation  of  the  dip  of  the  magnetic  needle. 

We  have  already  seen  that  Hudson's  first  attempt  was  to  reach 
Japan  and  China  by  passing  the  North  Pole.  This  plan  had  been 
suggested  in  1527  by  Robert  Thome,  a  Seville  merchant,  who 
seems  to  have  been  under  Sebastian  Cabot's  influence.  Up  to 
1607  the  plan  had  not  been  tested  ;  and  Hudson,  too,  soon  discov- 
ered how  impracticable  it  was.* 

Hudson  left  C.ravesend  the  ist  of  May,  1607,  reached  Shetland 
the  26th  of  the  same  month,  and  the  (Jreenland  coast  the  13th  of 
June.  He  tells  us  that  he  hoped  to  find  an  open  .sea,  instead  of 
the  northern  parts  of  (Jreenland  which  his  chart  indicated.  But, 
although  that  chart  was  not  correct  in  all  its  details,  Hudson's  first 
hope-proved  delusive.  He  did  not  any  more  succeed  in  finding  a 
passage  through  the  ice  between  (ireenland  and  Spitzbergen  ;  and 
the  search  after  such  a  passage  led  him  rapidly  along  that  undulat- 
ing north-easterly  line  which  the  arcJc  ice  Lank  between  Spitzbergen 
and  (Jreenland  describes  in  summer  time.  He  thus  reached  Spitz- 
bergen the  27th  of  June.  Here  he  made  again,  and  with  no  more 
success,  an  attempt  similar  to  that  he  had  made  u.T  Llie  vlreenland 
shore.  He  tried  to  force  his  way  through  the  Spitzbergen  group 
eastwards,  but  found  solid  land  where  he  desired  to  discover  the 
open  sea.  Not  less  in  vain  >vere  his  efforts  to  pass  eastwards  or 
northwards  by  the  north  of  the  Spitzbergen  group.  Every. /here 
the  way  was  blocked  up  by  boundless  icefields.  The  whole  of  the 
month   of  July  having  been   spent  in  these   fruitless  endeavours, 


■'i 


*  We  shall  n6t  trouble  the  render  with  lucb  gooKraphical  details  hh  only  a  thoroutrh 
acquaintance  with  arctic  geography  would  e.>.able  him  to  undentu«d ;  ani  we  shall  therefore 
devote  but  a  few  lines  to  Hudson's  flrst  voyage. 


f 


8 


HKNRY    IIITDSON. 


Hudson  shaped  his  course  homewards  the  ist  of  August.  On  his 
home  voyage  he  accidentally  discovered  an  island  under  71'  N.  lat., 
which  he  called  Hudson's  Touches,  and  which  has  since  been  called 
Jan  Ptlayen  Island  by  the  Dutch.  Hudson's  n;xme  has  not  yet 
been  restored  to  this  island  by  English  geographers,  although 
claimed  for  it  with  unquestionable  evidence  more  than  five  years 
ago. 

This  first  voyage  of  Henry  Hudson  had  one  highly  impoitant 
result.  It  led  to  the  establishment  of  the  arctic  fisheries  both  of 
the  Knglish  and  Dutch,  which,  besides  their  great  economical  value, 
have  mightily  contributed  in'  forming  an  army  of  skilful  and  daunt- 
less seamen. 

Hudson's  second  voyage,  in  1608,  which  was  again  undertaken 
for  the  Merchant  .Vdventurers,  offers  still  fewer  points  of  interest. 
It  merely  served  to  destroy  some  of  the  delusive  hopes  of  a  north- 
easterly route  to  Chiiiii  hitherto  entertained  by  geographers. 

Having  ascertained  by  his  first  voyage  that  there  was  no  hope 
of  penetrating  between  (Ireenland  and  Spitzbergen,  Hudson's  new 
plan  was  to  enter  the  Arctic  Ocean  between  Spitzbergen  and  Nova 
Zembla.  He  left  London  the  22d  of  April,  1608.  The  nth  of 
June  he  was  in  lat.  js**  24'  N.,  between  Spitzbergen  and  Nova 
Zembla,  engaged  in  his  struggles  against  the  floes  and  fields  of  ice. 
After  only  a  week's  vain  exertions,  the  i8th  of  June  this  strug- 
gle had  to  be  given  up,  and  Hudson  had  to  sail  .southwards.  He 
now  tried  a  course  similar  to  tho.se  of  the  preceding  year.  Misled 
by  his  charts,  he  sought  to  ;;o  eastwards  through  the  Nova  Zembla 
group  ;  but,  where  he  had  hoped  to  meet  with  an  open  passage, 
the  unbroken  coast  line  continued  with  pitiless  perseverance.  On 
the  6th  of  July  the  fruitlessness  of  this  effort  had  become  evident, 
and  only  one  apparent  chance  remained  in  those  quarters — to  enter 
the  Sea  of  Kora  by  the  open  passage  between  Russia  and  Nova 
Zembla.  But  it  was  already  too  late  for  such  an  attempt,  and  Hud- 
son's vessel  was  not  fitted  for  the  already  well-known  dangers  of  the 
Sea  of  Kora  ;  Hudson  therefore  returned  towards  home  on  the  6th 
of  July.  Regretting  the  loss  of  the  finest  part  of  the  season,  he 
was  tempted  yet  to  sail  to  the  northwest,  and  to  explore  the  mouth 
of  the  strait  that  now  bears  his  name.  This  idea,  however,  he  gave 
up  for  the  present,  and  reached  home  the  26th  of  August. 

Hudson's  accouni  of  the  second  voyage  contains  tlie  following 
justly  celebrated  passage  : — 


THK   XAVKJATOU. 


9 


t.  On  his 
I  N. lat, 
leen  called 
IS  not  yet 
I,  although 
five  years 

impoitant 
ies  both  of 
iiical  value, 
and  daunt- 

andertaken 
of  interest, 
of  a  north- 
lers.  ■' 
■as  no  hope 
idson's  new 
1  and  Nova 
he  nth  of 

and  Nova 
ields  of  ice. 

this  strug- 
vards.  He 
ir.  Misled 
3va  Zembla 
en  passage, 
Tance.  On 
me  evident, 
rs — to  enter 
I  ancl  Nova 
jt,  and  Hud- 
ngersof  the 
e  on  the  6th 
■  season,  he 
e  the  mouth 
!ver,  he  gave 

JSt. 

he  following 


"I'his  morning  (June  15th,  1608,  lat.  75"  7'  N.)  one  of  our 
companie  looking  overboard  .saw  a  mermaid,  and,  calling  up  some 
of  the  companie  to  see  her,  one  more  came  up,  and  by  that  time 
shee  was  come  close  to  the  ship's  side,  looking  earnestly  on  the  men  ; 
a  little  after  a  sea  came  and  overturned  her.  From  the  na/ill  up 
ward,  her  backe  and  breasts  were  like  a  woman's,  as  they  say  that 
saw  her,  her  body  as  big  as  one  of  us,  her  skin  very  white,  and 
long  haire  hanging  down  behind,  of  colour  blacke ;  in  her  going 
down  they  saw  her  tayle,  which  was  like  the  tayle  of  a  porpasse, 
and  speckled  like  a  macrell.  Their  names  that  saw  her  were 
Thomas  Hills  and  Robert  Rayner." 

The  two  failures  of  1607  and  1608  seem  to  have  discouraged 
the  Company  of  Merchant  Adventurers  from  further  pursuing  the 
scheme  of  the  north-eastern  search.  Hudson,  however,  firmly 
adhered  to  his  idea,  and  a  very  short  time  after  his  return  to  Eng- 
land he  followed  a  call  to  another  quarter,  where  better  prospects 
were  held  out  to  him.  At  the  close  of  the  year  i6o8  we  meet  him 
in  Holland,  already  perfectly  familiar  with  the  leading  personages 
in  nautical  enterprise  and  geographical  science,  such  as  Peter 
Plancius,  Isaac  Lemaire,  Henry  Hondius.  He  even  became  mixed 
up  in  a  very  singular  manner  with  the  Dutch  political  conflicts  that 
were  then  at  their  height.  Without  deviating  in  the  least  from  his 
one  and  only  purpose  of  finding  a  northern  route  to  China,  and 
most  probably  without  understanding  the  motives  of  those  he  was 
dealing  with,  Hudson  entered  into  negotiations  with  both  of  the 
great  political  parties  of  Holland  who  were  bidding  against  each 
other  for  his  services.  In  this  bidding  a  still  more  important 
personage,  the  envoy  of  Henry  IV,,  of  France,  the  celebrated 
Jeannin,  tock  an  active  part  on  behalf  of  his  master. 

The  struggles  of  the  two  parties  between  whom  Hudson  was 
thus  bandied  about  had  so  great  an  influence  on  the  consequences 
of  his  third  voyage  that  we  cannot  help  entering  at  some  length 
into  the  different  subjects  of  this  Dutch  party  strife — a  subject 
of  great  intrinsic  interest,  and  of  some  importance  for  the  history 
of  England's  home  and  foreign  affairs. 

The  war  between  6pain  and  the  Netherlands  had  the  effect  oi 
ttansferrlng  all  those  brilliant  features  by  which  Belgium  had  been 
distinguished  up  to  Philippe  I.'s  time— her  commerce,  industry, 
learning  and  art— to  the  northern  provinces  which  shook  off  the 
Spanish  yoke,  and  especially  to  Holland.     All  the  principal  towns 

2 


'I 


I 


J 


.■;j.';_j-kaai!~ 


«9«J|« 


10 


IfENUY   FIUDSON, 


of  Holland  still  bear  the  architectural  stamp  of  their  perfect 
renewal  at  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century.  The  seemingly 
miraculous  growth  of  the  Dutch  republic  was  indeed  nothing 
but  a  transplantation  of  the  most  vigorous  elements  from  the  south 
to  the  north,  and  the  destruction  of  Belgium's  prosperity  was 
its  necessary  consequence. 

This  state  of  things  was  definitively  settled  by  the  truce  of 
1609,  by  which  Spain  recognised  the  independence  of  the  northern 
Netherlands,  while  these  gave  up,  for  twelve  years,  the  war  with 
Spain.  The  treaty  contained  one  of  the  most  infamous  stipulations 
ever  invented  by  diplomatists,  the  closing  of  the  river  Scheldt. 
It  fortified  the  iron  rule  of  papistic  persecutions  in  Belgium,  cut  off 
all  hope  of  the  return  of  the  Protestant  emigrants,  and  thus 
doomed  Belgium  to  that  perpetual  despondency  from  which  she 
suffered  during  more  than  two  centuries,  and  only  recovered  within 
our  own  recollections. 

Such  a  treaty  was  for  the  native  Hollanders  like  a  double  victory 
over  Spain  and  over  Belgium.  Very  different,  however,  were  the 
feelings  with  which  it  was  regarded  by  the  emigrants  from  Belgium 
— a  body  of  nearly  a  million,  which  contained  the  very  quintessence 
of  everything  that  had  formerly  made  Belgium,  and  had  now 
made  Holland,  a  powerful  state.  These  emigrants  contended — 
perhaps  with  truth,  perhaps  with  the  ordinary  delusion  of  emigrants 
— that  by  an  honest  continuation  of  the  war  with  Spain  the 
Spaniards  must  be  driven  from  Belgium  also.  The  Orange  family, 
whose  interests  lay  in  the  same  direction,  shared  the  same  views. 
Another  scarcely  less  powerful  ally  was  the  grudge  of  the  lower 
trading  classes,  especially  in  the  towns,  against  the  powerful 
families  who  ruled  the  cities  of  Holland  and  the  country  itself,  as 
deputies  from  the  cities  in  the  estates  of  Holland. 

The  party  into  which  these  three  elements  were  combined 
centred  in  the  Calvinistic  clergy,  who  consisted  almost  exclusively  of 
Belgians.  Having  sprung  from  a  war  in  defence  of  the  Protestant 
religion,  the  party  was  naturally  ruled  and  kept  together  by  its 
preachers.  Of  so  much  importance,  indeed,  was  this  religious 
standard,  that  the  adversaries  also  felt  obliged  to  raise  a  theo- 
logical banner,  on  which  they  inscribed   the  name  of  Arminius. 

The  well  known  maxims  of  Church  government,  set  forth  by 
that  celebrated  Dutch  divine,  had  originally  no  other  purpose  than 
to  suit  the  interests  of  the  oligarchs,  whom  they  delivered  from  the 


tmmtm 


THK  NAVKJATOK. 


11 


iir  perfect 
seemingly 
id  nothing 
1  the  south 
jperity  was 

le  truce  of 
le  northern 
;  war  with 
itipulations 
ir  Scheldt, 
ium,  cut  oflF 
and  thus 
which  she 
ered  within 

able  victory 
r,  were  the 
)m  Belgium 
uintessence 
i  had  now 
antended — 
f  emigrants 
Spain  the 
nge  family, 
ame  views, 
f  the  lower 
e  powerful 
ry  itself,  as 

i  combined 
:clusively  of 
Protestant 
:ther  by  its 
lis  religious 
lise  a  theo- 
f  Arminius. 
set  forth  by 
urpose  than 
ed  from  the 


power  of  the  Calvinist  ministers.     Arminians  and  oligarchs  were 
convertible  terms. 

These  two  parties,  the  Calvinistic  and  the  Arminian,  lasted 
down  to  the  French  Revolution  of  1789.  They  are  not  even  now 
quite  extinct.  Formed  gradually  during  the  war  with  Spain,  the 
two  parties  had  assumed  their  definite  shape  in   1607  and   1608. 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  the  turmoil  of  their  struggle  that 
Hudson  arrived  in  Holland. 

Hut  what  had  the  party  strife  to  do  with  the  north-eastern 
search .' 

The  glorious  beginning  of  Holland's  maritime  success  had 
been  mainly  the  work  of  the  Belgian  emigrants.  Belgian  merchants, 
settled  in  various  towns  of  the  northern  provinces,  had  first  started 
shi|js  for  oceanic  commerce.  The  Belgian  emigrants  had  also  hit 
upon  the  singularly  happy  and  fruitful  idea  of  turning  the  science  of 
geography  into  a  weapon  against  the  King  of  Spain.  The  fathers 
of  modern  map-making.  Gemma,  Ortelius,  and  Mercator,  were 
Belgians,  and,  though  themselves  Roman  Catholics,  yet  closely 
connected  with  the  Protestants.  Their  followers,  Hulsius,  the 
De  Brys,  Bertuis,  De  Laet,  Cluverius,  Jodarus,  and  Henry  Hondius, 
and  especially  Peter  iPIancius,  were  all  of  them  Belgians  and 
Belgian  emigrants.  Plancius,  a  most  ardent  Calvinistic  preacher, 
and  one  of  the  heads  of  the  Calvinistic  party,  had  opened  at 
Amsterdam,  a  school  of  navigation,  to  the  influence  of  which  all 
the  early  voyages  of  the  Dutch  can  be  distinctly  traced  back. 
With  regard  to  the  search  for  a  short  northern  route,  and  to 
all  northern  search  in  general,  Plancius  held  very  nearly  the  same 
positions  as  Sir  John  Barrow  held,  and  Sir  Roderick  Murchison 
holds,  in  our  days.  Plancius's  most  cherished  pupils,  William 
Barents  and  Jacob  Heemskerk,  had  won  imperishable  laurels  Dy 
their  north-eastern  voyages ;  and,  when  Barents'  companions 
returned  from  their  celebrated  wintering  at  Nova  Zenbla,  where 
Barents  himself  had  perished,  Plancius's  house  was  the  first  place 
they  repaired  to. 

But  the  vigilant  chief  of  the  Holland  nativists,  John  Oldenbar- 
nevelt,  did  not  allow  the  power  which  the  early  maritime  successes 
created  to  remain  in  the  hands  of  his  political  adversaries.  He 
established,  in  1602,  the  great  East  India  Company,  whose  govern- 
ment was  from  the  beginning,  and  always  ;emained,  with  the 
Arminians.     This  company  had,   to  the  exclusion  of  all   other 


XV  1 

# 


'M 


it 


Lrwid^jjr-ftft-^igg  *^:r■■:'::::^tf  * 


mrnm 


pfii^jp 


18 


IIKNKY  HFDSON, 


Dutch  citizens,  the  privilege  of  trading  to  the  Kast  by  the  way  of 
the  Cape  of  (lood  hope,  and  by  the  Straits  of  Magellan.  The 
trade  by  the  northern  route  that  was  yet  to  be  discovered  was 
however,  not  included  in  the  privilege. 

When  Hudson  first  arrived  in  Holland,  he  had  been  called 
there  by  the  East  India  Company.  After  some  negotiations  with 
him  they  told  him  that,  while  the  question  of  the  truce  with  Spain  was 
pending,  they  would  not  enter  into  any  new  enterprise.  They  gave 
him  a  retaining  fee,  and  claimed  his  services  for  the  year  1610. 
These  transactions  took  place  in  December  1608,  or  in  the  beginning 
of  January  1609. 

But  in  the  meanwhile,  the  Belgians  had  not  been  idle.  One 
of  their  principal  merchants  and  shipowners,  Isaac  I^maire,  tried 
to  persuade  Jeaanin,  the  envoy  of  Henry  IV.,  to  engage  Hudson, 
and  thus  to  forestall  the  East  India  Company.  The  voyage  was 
to  be  taken  on  joint  account,  under  Lemaire's  name,  Henry 
furnishing  but  the  very  moderate  sum  of  three  or  four  thousand 
crowns  (ecus).  Jeannin's  letter  which  informs  Henry  IV,  of  this 
negotiation,  is  an  extremely  valuable  document  for  the  history  of 
commerce.  It  is  not  les&  curious  from  the  insight  it  gives  into 
Plancius's  and  Lemaire's  illusions  concerning  the  extreme  north. 
These  illusions  have,  unfortunately,  not  been  quite  dispelled  even 
at  the  present  day,  and  some  of  them  still  figure  among  the  hoijes 
and  plans  of  Professor  Petermann.  May  they  not  again  bear  bitter 
fruits  I 

Although  the  transaction  between  Jeannin  and  Hudson  was  to 
be  a  profound  secret,  it  became,  like  most  secrets,  known  to  the  per- 
sons whon'  it  concerned  ;  and  the  Amsterdam  directors  of  the  East 
India  Company  determined  to  send  Hudson  at  once,  in  1609, 
against  the  advice  of  their  Zealand  colleagues,  who  were  by  this 
time  convinced  that  the  north-eastern  route  to  China  was  a  mere 
dream. 

The  vessel  which  Hudson  obtained  for  his  voyage,  the  JFfa^ 
Moon,  was,  in  size,  like  those  the  English  company  had  supplied  to 
him.  It  was  a  small  flat-bottomed  craft  of  the  kind  then  generally 
used  in  the  Dutch  coasting  trade,  and  manned  with  a  crew  of 
sixteen,  partly  English,  partly  Dutch.  The  Englishmen  were,  as 
far  as  their  names  are  known,  from  among  Hudson's  former 
companions.  They  must,  therefore,  have  come  to  Holland  for  the 
express  purpose  of  again  joining  in  the  northern  expedition.     The 


■\ 


THK   NAVIOATOK. 


18 


the  way  of 
jllan.  The 
wered    was 

been  called 
ations  with 
h  Spain  was 
They  gave 
year  1610. 
e  beginning 

idle.  One 
maire,  tried 
je  Hudson, 
voyage  was 
me,  Henry 
ir  thousand 

IV.  of  this 
;  history  of 
;  gives  into 
•erne  north, 
pelled  even 
l  the  hoijes 
1  bear  bitter 

dson  was  to 
n  to  the  per- 
of  the  East 
:e,  in  1609, 
'ere  by  this 
was  a  mere 

;e,  the  JFfa// 
supplied  to 
:n  generally 
1  a  crew  of 
en  were,  as 
sn's  former 
land  for  the 
lition.    The 


Dutch  sailors,  on  the  contrary,  accustomed  to  Kast    India,  were 
ill-adapted  for  a  polar  voyage. 

Hudson  originally  intended  to  undertake  again  a  north-eastern 
search,  most  probably  through  the  open  strait  south  of  Nova 
Zembla  (Nassau  Strait),  and  then  go  through  the  Kora  Sea. 
Scarcely,  howevar,  had  he  arrived  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Nova 
Zembla  when  a  mutiny  broke  out  among  the  crew,  the  Dutch 
sailors  refusing  to  battle  with  the  ice.  Hudson  then  laid  before 
them  two  proposals  :  "  to  undertake  a  search  through  Davis's  Strait, 
or  to  go  to  the  coast  of  America,  to  the  latitude  of  40'.  This  idea 
had  been  suggested  to  him  by  some  letters  and  maps  which  his 
friend  Captain  Smith  had  sent  to  him  from  Virginia,  and  by  which 
he  informed  him  that  there  was  a  sea  leading  into  the  western 
ocean  by  the  north  of  the  southern  English  colony."* 

Captain  John  Smith,  the  founder  of  the  English  empire  in  North 
America,  had  married  the  daughter  of  an  Indian  chief./  It  is, 
therefore,  probable  that  he  had  received  from  the  Indians  some 
vague  account  of  the  great  Western  lakes,  which  induced  him  to 
mistake  these  ocean-like  waters  for  the  Pacific.  It  would  even  seem 
as  if  Hudson  himself  had  communicated  Smith's  opinions  to  his 
friends  in  Holland.  For  the  Dutch  geographer,  Hessel  Cerritsz, 
the  first  writer  who  spread  Hudson's  reputation,  and,  like  Hudson, 
a  friend  of  Peter  Plancius,  asserted  in  1612  that,  according  to  the 
unanimous  testimony  of  the  Virginians  and  Floridans,  their  country 
is  to  the  west  washed  by  a  wide  sea,  and  Gerritsz  identifies  that  sea 
with  the  Pacific. 

Hudson's  crew  accepted  the  search  indicated  by  Captain  Smith, 
which  offered  them  no  danger  of  cold  and  ice-fields  The  14th  of 
May  the  Half  Moon  left  the  neighbourhood  of  Nova  Zembla. 
Having  arrived  in  the  American  waters,  near  the  coast  of  Nova 
Scotia,  in  the  beginning  of  July,  Hudson  examined  the  whole  sea- 
shore from  Nova  Scotia  down  to  the  mouth  of  the  Delaware. 
But  the  records  by  which  the  memory  of  this  part  of  the  explorations 
is  handed  down  offer  little  interest  at  the  present  day.  Of  Hudson's 
own  journal  only  a  few  scraps  have;  been  preserved  in  the  Dutch 

.♦  Virginia  as  opposed  to  New  Bnglaml.  Tlie  above  passage  is  from  Van 
Meteren'8  clironicle,  an<l  can  almost  willi  certainty  be  traced  baclt  to  Hudson 
liimself.  Van  Meteren  died  in  1612,  only  two  years  after  Hudson's  return  from 
the  third  voyage.  Florida  is  a  very  vague  term.  Even  in  the  17th  century  the 
natives  of  the  State  of  New  Yorli  were  sometimes  called  Floridans. 


"-r 


14 


HKVRY  iirnH»>>f, 


translation.  I'hose  notes  of  his  companions  in  which  the  voyage 
alnnii  the  coast  of  the  United  States  is  described  are  of  a  strictly 
nautical  character.  'I'hey  do  not  even  allude  to  Hudson's  one 
leading  purpose,  the  search  for  a  nortii-western  strait  ;  and  they  do 
not  allow  us  to  watch  the  continual  rising  and  vanishing  of  his 
illusive  hopes. 

From  the  Delaware  Hudson  returned  northwards  along  the 
coa.st,  and  on  the  2d  (12th,  new  style)  of  September,  1609,  he  made 
the  discovery  which  has  most  illustrated  his  name.  On  that  day  he 
entered  the  mouth  of  Hudson's  River. 

[n  the  river's  mouth  nearly  a  week  was  spent.  'I'hen  tiudson 
sailed  up  the  river  till  he  arrived,  on  the  i6th,  near  what  is  now  the 
city  of  Albany.  Here  the  river  becomes  too  shallow  for  large 
vessels.  This  fact  having  been  ascertained  by  a  boat  sent  a  few 
miles  higher  up  to  take  soundings,  Hudson  began  his  home-voyage 
the  aSth.  Having  dropped  slowly  down  the  river,  he  was,  the  sth 
of  October,  again  on  the  open  sea. 

The  narratives  of  this  earliest  voyage  up  and  down  Hudson 
River  abound  with  anecdotes  of  encounters,  some  friendly,  some 
hostile,  with  the  natives.  We  shall  select  a  few  of  the  most  charac- 
teristic ;  Hudson  himself  tells  :* — 

"  1  sailed  to  the  shore  in  one  of  their  canoes,  with  an  old  man 
who  was  the  chief  of  a  tribe,  consisting  of  forty  men  and  seventeen 
women ;  these  I  saw  there  in  a  house  well  constructed  of  oak 
bark,  and  circular  in  shape,  so  that  it  had  the  appearance  of  being 
well  built,  with  an  archetl  roof.  It  contained  a  great  quantity  of 
maize,  or  Indian  corn,  and  beans  of  the  last  year's  growth,  and  there 
lay  near  the  house,  for  the  purpose  of  drying,  enough  to  load  three 
ships,  besides  what  was  growing  in  the  fields.  On  our  coming  into 
the  house,  two  mats  were  spread  out  to  sit  upon,  and  immediately 
some  food  was  seized  in  w  :ll-made  red  wooden  bowls ;  twb  men 
were  also  despatched  at  once,  with  bows  and  arrows,  in  quest  of 
game,  who  soon  after  brought  in  a  pair  of  pigeons  which  they  had 
shot.  They  likewise  killed  a  fat  dog,  and  skinned  it  in  great  haste 
with  shells  which  they  had  got  out  of  the  water.  They  supposed 
that  I  would  remain  with  them  for  the  night,  but  I  returned  after  a 
short  time  on  board  the  ship.  The  land  is  the  finest  for  cultivation 
that  I  ever  in  my  life  set  foot  upon,  and  it  also  abounds  in  trees  of 


*  Retraii8lat«d  from  the  Dutch  translation  of  De  Laet.    The  original  in  lost. 


"\i 


TIIK   NAVIUATOK. 


ir) 


he  voyage 
r  a  strictly 
dson's  one 
nd  they  do 
ling  of  his 

along  the 
>9,  he  made 
that  day  he 

en  Hudson 
t  is  now  the 
'  for  large 
sent  a  few 
ome-voyage 
ras,  the  5th 

vn  Hudson 
:ndly,  some 
nost  charac- 

an  old  man 
seventeen 
cted  of  oak 
ce  of  being 
quantity  of 
,  and  there 
load  three 
coming  into 
mmediately 
twb  men 
in  quest  of 
h  they  had 
great  haste 
supposed 
rned  after  a 
r  cultivation 
s  in  trees  of 

triginat  is  lost. 


■y 


every  description.  The  natives  are  a  very  good  people,  for  when 
they  saw  that  I  would  not  remain,  they  supposed  that  1  was  afraid 
of  their  bows,  and  taking  the  arrows,  they  broke  them  in  pieces,  and 
threw  them  into  the  fire." 

In  a  very  different  spirit  are  nearly  all  the  observations  on  the 
Indians  made  by  Juet,  one  of  Hudson's  most  constant  companions, 
an  able  man,  but  of  a  very  bad  character,  to  whose  influence  the 
exposure  and  death  of  Hudson  in  Hudson's  Bay  is  mainly  to  be 
attributed.     Juet  tells  : — 

"The  people  of  the  country  came  aboard  of  us,  making  show  of 
love,  and  gave  us  tobacco  and  Indian  wheat,  and  departed  for  that 
night,  but  we  durst  not  trust  them.. . . . 

"  This  morning  there  came  eight-and-twentie  canoes  full  of  men, 
women,  and  children  to  betray  u.s,*  but  we  saw  their  intent, 
and  suffered  none  of  them  to  come  aboard  of  us.  At  twelve  of  the 
clocke  they  departed.  They  brought  with  them  oysters  and  beanes, 
whereof  we  bought  some.     They  have  great  tobacco  pipes  of  yellow 

copper,  and  pots  of  earth  to  dresse  their  meat  in 

"  In  the  morning  two  great  canoes  came  aboord  full  of  men, 
the  one  wiln  their  bowes  and  arrowes,  and.  the  other  in  show  of 
buying  knives,  to  betray  us,  but  we  p'^rceived  their  intent.  Wee 
took  two  of  them  to  have  kept  them,  and  put  red  coates  on  them, 
and  would  not  suffer  the  others  to  come  near  us.  So  they  went  on 
land,  and  two  others  came  aboord  in  a  canoe  ;  we  tooke  the  one  and 
let  the  other  goe  ;  but  hee  which  we  had  taken  got  up  and  leapt 
overboard.  .  .  . 

"  This  morning  oure  two  savages  got  out  of  a  port,  and  swam 
away.     After  we  were  under  sayle  they  called  to  us  in  scorne,  .  .  . 

"  The  people  of  the  mountaynes  ccme  aboord  us,  wondering  at 
our  ship  and  weapons.  We  bought  some  skinnes  of  them  for  tri- 
fles. This  afternoone  one  canoe  kept  hanging  under  our  steme 
with  one  man  in  it,  which  we  could  not  keep  from  there,  who  got 
up  in  our  rudder,  to  the  cabin's  window,  and  stole  out  my  pillow, 
and  two  shirts,  and  two  bandeliers.  Our  master's  mate  shot  at 
him,  and  strooke  him  on  the  brest,  and  killed  him.  Whereupon  all 
the  rest  fled  away,  some  in  their  canoes,  and  so  leapt  out  of  them 
into  the  water.     We  manned  our  boat,  and  got  our  things  again. 

*  The  intentfong  of  the  indians  were  evidently  of  a  friendly  nature.  No  Indian 
war-party  would  have  been  accompanied  by  women  and  children. 


1 


H 


le 


IIKNIIV    IU'DHOV. 


Then  one  of  them  thut  swamme  got  hold  of  our  bout,  thinking;  to 
overthrow  it.  But  our  cookc  took  a  sword,  and  cut  off  one  of  his 
hands,  and  he  was  drowned." 

Only  once  Juet  does  full  justice  to  the  natives  : — 

"There  wee  found  very  loving  people  and  very  old  men  : 
where  we  were  well  used. 

Hut  even  the  following  charming  anecdote  is  spoilt  by  the  hostile 
tone  in  which  it  is  told  : — 

"  And  our  master  and  his  mate  determined  to  trie  some  of  the 
chiefe  men  of  the  countrey,  whether  they  had  any  tteacherie  in 
them.  So  they  took  them  down  into  the  cabbin  and  gave  them  so 
much  wine  and  ai/uii  vitae  that  they  wert  all  merrie  :  and  one  of 
them  had  his  wife  with  him,  which  sate  so  modestly  as  any  of  our 
countreywomen  would  do  in  a  strange  place.  In  the  ende  one  of 
them  was  drunke,  which  had  been  aboord  of  our  ship  all  the  time 
that  we  had  beene  there :  and  that  was  strange  to  them  ;  for  they 
could  not  tell  how  to  take  it  The  canoes  and  folks  went  all  on 
shore  :  but  some  of  them  came  againe,  and  brought  stropes  of  beades 
— some  had  six,  seven,  eight,  nine,  ten — and  gave  him.  So  he 
slept  all  night  quietly.  ..  .  -.  ,,      ^   . 

"The  people  of  the  countrey  came  not  aboord  till  noone,  but 
when  they  came  and  saw  the  savages  well,  they  were  glad.  So  at 
three  of  the  clocke,  in  the  afternoone,  they  came  aboord  and 
brought  tobacco,  and  more  beades,  and  gave  them  to  our  master, 
and  made  an  oration,  and  showed  him  all  the  countrey  round 
about.  Then  they  sent  one  of  their  companie  on  land,  who  pre- 
sently returned,  and  brought  a  great  platte  full  of  venison  dresspd 
by  themselves  ;  and  they  caused  him  to  eat  with  them  ;  then  they 
made  him  reverence,  and  departed,  all  save  the  old  man  that  lay 
aboord." 

This  first  acquaintance  with  the  effects  of  the  fire  watel- — for 
them  not  an  aqua  vitae,  but  a  water  of  death — remained  still  vivid 
in  the  Indians'  meinoiy  two  hundred  years  after  its  occurrence,  as 
German  missionaries  aifiong  them  testify. 

The  great  difference  between  Hudson's  and  Juet's  appreciation 
of  the  natives  is  but  one  injtance,  and  a  very  mild  one,  of  the  dis- 
sensions between  the  master  and  his  crew.  The  whole  plan  of  the 
voyage  had  already  been  altered  by  their  mutinous  behaviour, 
which  was  about  to  exercise  a  still  more  decisive  influence  on 
Hudson's  fate.    By  preventing  his  return  to  Holland,  it  mainly  con- 


TIIK   NAVtOATOH. 


17 


hinking  to 
one  of  his 


e.n  : 

the  hostile 

)me  of  the 
iacherie  in 
/e  them  so 
ind  one  of 
any  of  our 
nde  one  of 
.11  the  time 
i  ;  for  they 
^ent  all  on 
!sofbeades 
im.     So  he 

noone,  but 
lad.  So  at 
boord  and 
}ur  master, 
trey  round 
who  pre- 
lOn  dresspd 
then  they 
an  that  lay 

wateT-— for 
1  still  vivid 
urrencs,  as 

ppreciation 
of  the  dis- 
plan  of  the 
behaviour, 
ifluence  on 
mainly  con- 


tributed to  lead  him  to  the  vast  and  dreary  inland  sea  which  bears 
his  name — at  once  the  site  and  the  immense  monument  of  his  mar- 
tyrdom. 

For,  when  the  //a//  Moon  vas  again  out  of  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  the  whole  crew  unanimously  refused  to  return  to  Holland. 
This  seemed  to  Hudson  so  sinister  a  symptom  that  he  could  not 
even  he  induced  to  accept  his  mate's  proposal,  else  so  alluring  to 
him,  of  pa.ssing  the  winter  on  Newfoundland,  and  starting  at  the 
very  beginning  Df  the  next  season  for  a  search  in  Davis's  Strait. 
Hudson  tried,  seemingly  with  perfect  success,  to  persuade  the  crew 
tc  winter  in  Ireland.  But,  when  they  neared  the  British  Islands, 
a  renewed  mutiny  compelled  him  to  direct  his  course;  to  Dartmouth 
harbour,  on  the  coast  of  Devonshire.  Here  he  arrived  the  7th  of 
December,  1609.  In  Dartmouth  a  new  and  most  fatal  disappoint- 
ment awaited  him.  While  the  storms  of  autumn  and  winter 
retarded  his  intercourse  with  his  employers  in  Holland,  the  Eng- 
lish Oovernment,  in  January  1610,  laid  an  embargo  on  the  persons 
of  Hudson  and  of  his  English  companions. 

Hudson's  plan  had  been  to  undertake  in  the  next  season  but  a 
short  searc*",  from  the  middle  of  May  to  the  middle  of  September, 
and  then  to  return  to  Holland.  Although  this  plan  was  frustrated, 
he  was  not  to  remain  idle  A  new  company  was  formed  in  Eng- 
land for  the  express  purpose  of  Hudson's  explorations.  It  is 
curious  how  mi^jhty  were  the  efforts  by  which  one  vessel  of  very 
moderate  dimensions,  with  a  crew  of  only  twenty-four  persons,  in- 
cluding all  the  officers,  was  fitted  out.  Hudson's  new  employers 
were,  besides  the  Company  of  Merchant  Adventurers  and  the 
East  India  Company  : — 

Henry  Charles,  Earl  of  Northampton,  Keeper  of  the  Privy  Seal; 
Charles,  Earl  of  Nottingham,  Admiral  of  England ;  Thomas, 
Earl  of  Suffolk,  Lord  Chamberlain  ;  Henry,  Earl  of  Southampton  ; 
Villiers,  Earl  of  Salisbury ;  Theophilus,  Lord  Walden ;  Sir 
Thomas  Smith  Mansell ;  Sir  Walter  Hope  ;  Sir  Dudley  Diggs ;  Sir 
James  Lancerratt ;  Rebecca,  Lady  Romney ;  Francis  Jones,  Alder- 
man ;  John  Wolstenholme,  Esq  ;  John  Edred,  Robert  Sandy,  Wil- 
liam Greenwell,  Nicholas  Leats,  Hovet  Stopers,  William  Russell, 
John  Mericks,  Abraham  Chamberlaine,  Philipp  Barlomathis,  mer- 
chants of  the  city  of  London. 

The  real  merit  of  having  started  the  expedition  belongs,  however, 
neither  to  the  two  mighty  companies,  nor  to  the  noble  patrons,  but 

3 


■IB 


It 


IIKNKY    inTlm«»S, 


to  three  gentlemen  whose  names  are  in  the  above  lonjj  list  not  to 
be  distinguished  from  the  crowd  of  other  names — to  Sir  Dudley 
DIkHs,  Sir  Thomas  Smith,  and  John  Woistenholme,  Ksq.  Purchas, 
the  historian  of  the  expedition,  mentions  no  other  name  but  theirs ; 
and  Hudson  gratefully  inscribed  those  of  Sir  Dudley  Diggs  and 
John  Woistenholme  on  the  passage  which  forms  the  entrance  gate 
from  Hudson's  Strait  to  Hudson's  Hay.  Sir  Thomas  Smith's  name 
was  afterwards  given  by  Baffin  to  Smith's  Sound. 

Hudson's  mlcntion  was  from  the  beginning  of  this  voyage  the 
same  which  he  carried  out :  to  search  for  a  loute  to  the  Pacific 
through  the  strait  now  called  Hudson's  Strait.  This  .eaich  was 
so  far  prepare*!  by  anterior  north-western  expedi^iu  s  that  much 
of  the  groping  movements  which  mostly  mark  voyages  of  discov- 
ery was  saved  to  Hudson.  Frobisher  had  already,  in  1576,  fountl 
a  strait  parallel  and  close  to  Hudson's  Strait.  Davis,  one  of  the 
greatest  of  northern  navigators,  had  spent  the  three  seasons  of  1585, 
1586,  and  1589,  in  examining  the  shores  of  the  .strait  which  justly 
bears  his  name.  He  had  even  drawn  these  coasts  for  the  then 
celebrated  globe  of  Henry  Molyneux.  The  existence  of  several 
western  straits  on  the  American  side  of  Davis's  Strait  was  there- 
fore, in  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  a  fact  generally 
known  among  geographers.  Nay,  Hudson's  whole  plan  had,  during 
his  stay  in  Holland,  been  discussed  between  him  and  Peter  Plancius, 
by  whom  it  was  rejected.  For  Plancius  told  Hud.son  that  Hudson's 
Strait  is  not  a  way  to  the  Pacific,  but  a  blind  alley.  Of  this  fact 
Plancius  had  been  informed  by  a  seaman  who  had  been  at  the 
bottom  of  the  strait  and  bay.  Hudson's  immediate  predecessor 
in  the  north-western  search,  George  Weymouth,  had,  in  i6oa,  sailed 
nearly  one  hundred  leagues  (three  hundred  miles)  into  Hudson's 
Strait.  Hessel  Gerritsz  and  Luke  F'ox  state  that  Hudson  followed 
Weymouth's  footsteps — a  statement  which  some  of  Hudson's  own 
observations  confirm. 

It  would,  therefore,  be  a  great  mistake  to  attribute  to  Hudson 
the  discm'ery  of  the  strait,  in  the  vulgar  sense  of  the  word  discovery. 
His  real  merit  consists  in  the  exploration  of  the  strait — a  work  of 
such  magnitude  that  it  would  alone  be  sufficient  to  justify  the  im- 
mortality of  his  name. 

The  1 7th  of  April,  1 6 1  o,  H  adson  took  his  last  leave  from  London. 
His  vessel,  the  bark  Discovery,  sailed  with  him  and  his  companions 
from  St.  Katherine's  Pool  near  London  Bridge.     An  illboding  event 


TVV.   NAVIOAI'OK. 


list  not  to 
Sir  Dudley 
Furchas, 
but  theirs ; 
Diggs  and 
trance  gate 
nith's  name 

voyage  the 

the  Pacific 

-.sjarch  was 

that  much 

I  of  discov- 

1576,  found 

one  of  the 

nnsof  1585, 

vhich  justly 

or  the  then 

;  of  several 

t  was  there- 

•t  generally 

had,  during 

er  Plancius, 

It  Hudson's 

Df  this  fact 

jeen  at  the 

predecessor 

1603,  sailed 

Hudson's 

ion  followed 

idson^s  own 

to  Hudson 
d  discovery, 
—a  work  of 

tify  the  im- 

om  London, 
companions 
oding  event 


marked  his  \  ery  first  step.  Before  he  had  left  the  River  'I'hames, 
the  33d  of  April,  he  had  to  send  buck  u  man  named  Coieburnc— 
by  others  Colbert  or  Colbrand — whom  Hudson's  employers  had 
forci-tt  upon  him  as  an  assistant  and  official  adviser.  It  is  not 
surprising  that  this  else  absolutely  unknown  individual  has  revenged 
himself  on  Hudson's  memory  by  pretending  that  he  was  the  real 
aut!i'>r  of  the  search  through  Hudson's  Strait — an  assertion  that  is 
fortiinati-ly  refuted  by  Hudson's  anterior  communications  with  Peter 
Plancius. 

Having  passed  the  ( )rkneys  and  the  Faroe  Islands,  Hudson  was 
the  1 5th  of  May  near  the  southern  coast  of  Iceland.  He  then  rounded 
the  south-western  point  and  sailed  up  along  the  western  shore. 
But  the  unusually  vehement  eruptions  of  Mou  it  Hecla — which^ 
according  to  Hudson's  opinion,  indicated  the  approach  of  heavy 
weather — and  especially  the  compart  icefields  that  yet  encircled 
the  north-eastern  coast  of  Iceland,  induced  our  navigator  to  stay  a 
fortnight  in  two  of  the  western  harbours,  Dyre-Fiord  and  Breyde- 
Fiord.  During  this  repose  they  kept  Whitsuiuide,  bathed  in  the 
hot  springs,  shot  a  vast  store  of  wild  fowl,  ducks  and  partridges, 
plovers,  geese,  mallard,  teal,  and  curlew.  One  gun  could  kill 
enough  to  feast  the  whole  company  of  twenty-three  persons.  The 
sea  also  supplied  them  with  an  abundance  of  fish. 

During  this  stay  in  Iceland,  Juet,  Hudson's  mate,  began  to 
excite  the  men  against  the  master ;  and  shortly  after  leaving  the 
shore  he  threatened  to  turn  the  ship's  head  homewards.  This 
rebellion  seemed  so  serious  a  matter  to  Hudson  that  he  at  first 
intended  to  sail  back  to  Iceland  in  order  to  send  Juet  home  by  a 
whaler.  He  refrained  unfortunately  from  executing  this  judicious 
plan,  and  even  maintained  Juet  in  his  position. 

While  they  were  waiting  in  Breyde-Fiord,  whole  islands  of  ice 
came  off  the  western  coast,  and  on  the  ist  of  June  the  sea  was  already 
sufiiciently  cleared  to  allow  their  departure.  Hudson  intended  to 
sail  in  as  direct  a  line  as  possible  to  the  mouth  of  his  strait.  But 
he  was  forced  to  adopt  a  somewhat  circuitous  course.  For  the 
south  of  Greenland  was  still  encompassed  by  icefields  which 
stretched  far  out  into  the  sea.  Only  on  the  35th  day  after  his 
departure  from  Iceland,  the  34th  of  June  at  midnight,  Hudson 
entered  his  strait  from  the  north,  in  latitude  60"  17/  N. 

A  geographical  account  of  the  voyage  through  the  strait  would 
not  only  fatigue  the  reader ;  it  would  even  be  of  very  doubtful 


I 


■ .  ■■•  itiwa'yrriiiiaHtJiww 


t.<ijiwiM^;wpW(inn''i  liWMirtitefiwfcii 


90 


1IKNI5Y    HUDSON, 


value.  The  maps  and  charts  of  Hudson's  Strait  are  still  in  the 
highest  degree  unsatisfactory  ;  and  conclusions  based  upon  their 
comparison  with  Hudson's  journals  would  rarely  make  us  obtain 
unquestionable  facts.  We  have  nevertheless  the  means  of  appre- 
ciating the  ;,reatness  of  Hudson's  achievement  and  of  marking  its 
place  in  the  history  of  northern  discovery. 

Hudson  has  left  a  map  of  the  strait  which  is  far  superior  even 
to  Davis  and  Molyneux's  delineation  of  Davis's  Strait ;  and  no 
other  northern  map  or  chart  existing  at  the  time  can  at  all  be  com- 
pared to  it.  From  this  map,  and  from  the  journal  and  accounts 
that  have  been  preserved,  we  can  conclude  with  certainty  that 
Hudson  examined  both  the  northern  and  the  southern  shore  of  the 
strait — an  undertaking  of  such  vast  difficulty  that,  without  the  posi- 
tive proofs  we  possess  of  its  having  been  accomplished,  we  should 
hesitate  to  admit  even  its  possibility. 

The  strait  has  a  length  of  more  than  600  miles,  and  an  average 
width  at  least  equal  to  that  of  the  German  Ocean.  And  so  contin- 
ual are  the  fogs  and  mists  in  those  regions  that  a  coast  must  be 
approached  very  closely  in  order  to  be  investigated.  The  season 
of  16 10  was,  besides,  far  from  favourable  to  the  explorers.  The 
deep  bays  and  recesses  of  the  southern  coast  were  in  midsummer 
still  filled  with  ice  which,  though  loose  and  drifting,  was  not  the 
less  dangerous  to  navigation,  especially  at  night,  and  when  foul 
weather  had  set  in.  Hudson  first  discovered  a  remedy  against 
such  dangers,  which  has,  we  believe,  often  been  imitated  since. 
He  fastened  his  vessel  to  the  biggest  floe  he  could  lay  hold  of,  and 
then  gaily  sported  along  with  it,  the  floe  opening  a  channel  through 

the  ice.  ,"*'". 

The  seeds  of  mutiny  which  Juet  had  sown  while  they  were 
staying  in  Iceland  showed  their  first  germs  when,  on  the  5th  of 
July,  they  were  so  blocked  in  by  icefields  that  Hudson  in  ttis  own 
heart  gave  up  all  hope,  as  he  afterwards  avowed.  Although  the 
crew  obeyed  his  call  on  their  exertions,  they  began  to  murmur  very 
loudly,  and  Juet's  voice  was  once  more  raised  against  the  captain's. 
While  Hudson  even  in  this  extremity  believed  that  he  could  reach 
East  India  by  Candlemas  (in  February  161 1)  Juet  spoke  words  of 
bitter  mockery,  which  were  but  too  true,  and  sounded  therefore  the 

more  severely. 

Some  sport  was  here  and  there  afforded  by  seals  and  bears  on 
drifting  floes.    But  even  this  rare  chase  was  mostly  without  success ; 


I 


still  in  the 
upon  their 
2  us  obtain 
IS  of  appre- 
inarking  its 

perior  even 
lit ;  and  no 
all  be  com- 
id  accounts 
rtainty  that 
shore  of  the 
)ut  the  posi- 
,  we  should 

an  average 
d  so  contin- 
ist  must  be 
The  season 
orers.  The 
midsummer 
ivas  not  the 
[  when  foul 
»edy  against 
tated  since, 
hold  of,  and 
mel  through 

e  they  were 
I  the  5th  of 
\  in  His  own 
ilthough  the 
Tiurmur  very 
he  captain's, 
could  reach 
)ke  words  of 
iherefore  the 

Lnd  bears  on 
out  success ; 


THE  NAVIGATOR. 


21 


the  seals  and  bears  escaping  by  diving  or  jumping  on  other  islands 
of  ice  before  the  boats  could  approach  them.  At  last  the  western 
mouth  of  the  strait  was  reached,  the  2d  of  August.  The  3d  of 
August,  1610,  Hudson  entered  Hudsoi/s  Bay. 

The  island  to  which  Hudson  gave  the  name  of  his  patron.  Sir 
Dudley  l)iggi>,  and  the  opposite  cape,  which  he  named  after  John 
Wolstenholme,  lisq.,  form  a  kind  of  gateway  between  Hudson's 
Strait  and  Hudson's  Bay.  I'he  islands  swarm  with  fowl  of  every 
kind,  which  the  natives  of  the  region  catch  by  an  ingenious  trick — 
placing  a  snare  in  such  manner  that  the  birds  caught  in  it  strangle 
themselves.  A  large  herd  of  deer  was  also  met  with.  Yet,  to  the 
indignation  of  his  crew,  Hudson  could  not  be  induced  to  tarry,  but 
moved  on  southwards,  now  evidently  confident  that  the  way  to  China 
was  plain  before  him.  For,  on  leaving  the  strait,  the  coast  of  Hud- 
son's Bay  trends  almost  directly  from  the  north  to  the  south. 

The  mistake  was,  however,  too  evident  to  remain  long  hidden, 
especially  to  a  man  like  Juet ;  and  the  more  the  danger  of  winter- 
ing in  this  dreary  region  became  a  certainty,  the  more  Juet's  wild 
mind  was  roused  ;  and,  at  last,  Hudson  was  obliged  to  depose 
him,  the  7th  of  September,  1610. 

After  wandering  about  in  the  labyrinth  of  icefields,  islands, 
creeks,  and  harbours  to  the  south  of  Hudson's  Bay,  and  finding 
every  rising  hope  of  a  through  passage  to  the  Pacific  almost  imme- 
diately destroyed,  the  months  of  August,  September,  and  October 
being  thus  spent,  they  were  frozen  in  by  the  3d  of  November.  A 
similar  misfortune  has  befallen  many  Arctic  navigators,  and  fre- 
quently in  far  more  trying  circumstances.  The  latitude  of  Hudson's 
winter-quarters  is  only  a  few  miles  to  the  north  of  that  of  London. 
Barents  had,  in  1596,  wintered  in  latitude  73°  N.,  nearly  1,500 
miles  further  north,  and  Dr.  Kane's  wintering  took  place  in  latitude 
So**,  nearly  2,000  miles  nearer  to  the  Pole.  The  gloom  of  an  end- 
less night,  which  added  so  much  to  the  horrors  both  of  Kane's  and 
Barents's  wintering,  was  here  of  course  out  of  the  question,  as 
much  as  in  London  or  Berlin.  Hudson's  provisions,  though  not 
abundant,  were  yet  far  more  plentiful  than  those  of  most  navigators 
who  have  wintered  in  the  ice  ;  and  a  number  of  adventitious  addi- 
tions were  made  to  them  by  shooting  and  fishing.  Scurvy  visited 
few  of  the  early  northern  expeditions  less  severely  than  Hudson's. 
Only  one  man  died  of  this  terrible  disease,  though  a  good  many 
were  more  or  less  afflicted  by  it. 


'■i 


) 


■  li>JKllWii««rl»WiV-r->'^'' 


-jU 


22 


HENRY   HUDSON, 


Yet  this  trying  time,  which  has  so  often  brought  out  the  most 
beautiful  qualities  of  the  seaman — his  steady  trust  in  God,  his 
cheerfulness,  his  obedience  and  attachment  to  his  superiors — made 
a  hell  of  Hudson's  ship.  The  mutinous  spirit  showed  itself  without 
disguise,  and  Hudson  had  openly  to  take  precautions  for  his 
personal  safety.  He  seized  all  charts,  notes,  and  writing  materials, 
in  order  to  render  it  impossible  for  his  crew  to  return  without  him. 
He  was  exceedingly  careful  in  hoarding  a  store  of  provisions,  so 
much  so  that  he  increased  instead  of  diminished  the  distrust  of  his 
men,  which  grew  from  day  to  day,  and  continually  threatened  to 
break  out  in  open  revolt. 

A  momentary  diversion  was  made  in  this  state  of  things  by 
the  hope — vain,  like  all  Hudson's  hopes — of  establishing  a  regular 
intercourse  with  the  natives.  One  of  them  had  been  to  the  ship, 
and  had  entered  into  a  bartering  negotiation.  When  Hudson 
followed  his  traces,  he  already  perceived  that  he  was  close  to  the 
encampments.  But,  when  he  neared  the  fires,  of  which  he  had 
seen  the  smoke,  the  inhabitants  were  always  gone.  Much  faster 
than  he,  they  fled  before  him.  Not  even  here  his  illusions  left 
him.  From  the  knife  which  he  had  seen  that  one  man  wear,  and 
which  appeared  to  him  like  those  of  the  Mexicans,  he  concluded 
that  he  was  negf  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

He  was  to  empty  the  cup  to  the  very  dregs  befpre  the  terrible 
end  of  the  tragedy  took  place.  The  mutiny  by  which  he  lost  his 
life  broke  out  three  days  after  the  vessel  had  at  last  been  enabled 
to  get  away.  His  departure  from  his  winter-quarters  took  place 
the  i8th  of  June.  On  the  21st  of  June,  i6n,  Hudson,  with  his 
son  John,  who  had  always  been  his  companion,  and  seven  sick  men 
afflicted  with  scurvy,  were  exposed  in  a  boat.  Their  former  com- 
panions then  fled  from  them  at  full  sail,  as  if  from  an  enemy. 

During  the  home  voyage  the  principal  ringleaders  dietl-^Juet 
from  want,  in  sight  of  the  Irish  coast ;  the  others  long  before,  in 
a  fight  with  the  Esquimaux.  The  remainder  reached  home  towards 
the  middle  of  September.  7'hey  were,  at  their  arrival,  imprisoned, 
but  they  must  soon  have  been  released — for  Robert  BjUs,  who 
had  acted  as  master  in  the  home  voyage,  acquired  a  conspicuous 
place  among  noithern  navigators. 

The  consequences  of  Hudson's  extraordinary  career,  the 
energy  of  which  has  seldom  been  approached  and  never  exceeded, 
are  very  remarkable.     When  he  suffered  the  most  cruel  kind  of 


T 


iiiii.ii'  '^iiiiiiiianiii 


the  most 
God,  his 
rs — made 
If  without 
s  for  his 
materials, 
hout  him. 
,risions,  so 
rust  of  his 
atened  to 

things  by 
;  a  regular 

the  ship, 
1  Hudson 
3se  to  the 
:h  he  had 
uch  faster 
Lisions  left 

wear,  and 
concluded 

he  terrible 
le  lost  his 
n  enabled 
took  place 

,  with  his 
n  sick  men 
rmer  com- 
lemy. 
die(l-=^Juet 

before,  in 
ne  towards 
nprisoned, 
By'.as,  who 
onspicuous 

areer,   the 

exceeded, 

el  kind  of 


THE  NAVTOATon. 


23 


martyrdom,  a  lingering  starvation,  in  the  presence  of  his  son  and 
of  his  faithful  companions,  who  were  suffering  and  dying  with  him, 
he  must  have  considered  all  his  dauntless  efforts  as  absolutely 
fruitless.  Yet  how  much  have  they  produced !  The  bay  and  strait 
have  opened  up  the  vast  territories  which,  after  having  for  centuries 
yielded  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  furs,  are  now  destined  to  hold 
a  distinguished  place  among  England's  colonial  possessions.  The 
first  voyage  has  yielded  to  England  and  Holland  a  fishing  trade 
the  proceeds  of  Which  amount  to  millions  of  money,  and  which  has 
vastly  contributed  to  develop  the  energy  of  English  and  Dutch 
seamen.  More  important  still  are  the  consequences  of  the  third 
voyage.  Hudson's  own  employers,  the  East  India  Company  of 
Holland,  did  not  follow  up  his  discoveries,  because  all  West-Indian 
trade  was  specially  advocated  by  the  Calvinists,  as  an  infringement 
of  the  right  which  the  King  of  Spain  pretended  to  have  to  the 
whole  of  America.  Therefor^  .although  some  trading  to  Hudson's 
River  had  taken  place  by  a  number  of  adventurers  from  1611  to 
1620,  a  regular  intercourse  began  only  in  1621,  when  the  West 
India  Company  had  been  established — a  specially  Calvinistic 
concern,  whose  principal  aim  was  to  injure  the  Ring  of  Spain. 
Under  the  auspices  of  that  powerful  company,  the  fort  which  had 
been  built  in  16 14  on  the  River  Hudson  gradually  developed  into 
a  town  of  importance,  the  trade  of  which  was  already  considerable, 
when,  in  1664,  it  was  conquered  by  an  English  fleet,  and  named 
New  York.  .,-:;.  ^    /%, 


,-((iSf  *' 


■'i 


j.;i*jH(!»W 


5j|^s^«»«™" 


^Sm&i&y^M'Sm^iBimi^S'liilalSi&i: 


L'"^S5fesii4.iWjiiifc4i&-JJW^ 


■H 


